6 months for hitting pregnant wife on plane

TAMPA, Fla. – A man was sentenced to six months in federal prison for repeatedly hitting his pregnant wife in the stomach during a flight from Baltimore to Tampa last year.

A federal judge in Tampa sentenced 29-year-old David Henry Wysocki II of Palm Harbor on Monday. He had pleaded guilty to committing an assault on an aircraft. Authorities say that during the July 2009 AirTran flight, Wysocki threatened to kill his wife and unborn child and then hit her in the stomach.

At Monday's hearing, Wysocki told his wife that he was sorry and that he never meant to hurt her or the baby, which was born in good health. He blamed alcohol abuse for his actions.

The judge rejected Wysocki's excuses, noting that he seemed oblivious to the danger he created for every passenger on the plane.